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Researchers are one step closer to understanding how Britain’s ancient circular structure, Stonehenge, was created.
研究人员距离了解英国古代圆形建筑巨石阵的形成过程又近了一步。
The circle of huge rocks stands in southern England. Its so-called altar stone lies flat in the center.
这个由巨大岩石组成的圆圈矗立在英格兰南部。其所谓的祭坛石平躺在中央。
The new study finds that the huge altar stone did not come from nearby Wales as had been thought.
这项新的研究发现，巨大的祭坛石并非像人们之前认为的那样来自附近的威尔士。
The researchers say the rock instead was carried to the site from the more distant Scotland. Nature magazine published the study on Wednesday.
研究人员表示，这块岩石是从更远的苏格兰被搬运到这个地点的。《自然》杂志在周三发表了这项研究。
The research did not show how the five-meter-long stone was carried to the site.
这项研究并没有表明这块五米长的石头是如何被运到这个地点的。
But the scientists said it traveled about 740 kilometers.
但是科学家们说它穿越了大约740公里。
“It’s a surprise that it’s come from so far away,” said University of Exeter archaeologist Susan Greaney, who was not involved in the study.
埃克塞特大学考古学家苏珊·格里尼并没有参与这项研究，她说：‘’“它来自如此遥远的地方，太令人惊讶了。”
For more than a hundred years, scientists believed that Stonehenge’s central sandstone slab — long called the “altar stone" — came from much closer Wales.
一百多年来，科学家们一直认为，巨石阵中心的砂岩板——长期以来被称为“祭坛石”——来自更近的威尔士。
But a study last year by some of the researchers showed that the stone did not match the geology of Wales’ sandstone formations.
但是，去年一些研究人员进行的一项研究表明，这块石头与威尔士砂岩地层的地质情况并不匹配。
The actual source of the stone remained unknown until now.
这块石头的实际来源直到现在仍然未知。
For the study, the team tested mineral content in pieces of rock that had been collected in past digs.
为了进行这项研究，该团队测试了过去挖掘中收集的岩石碎片中的矿物质含量。
They found a match in the sandstone formations of Orcadian Basin in northeastern Scotland.
他们在苏格兰东北部的奥克尼盆地的砂岩地层中找到了匹配。
The area includes parts of the end of the Scottish peninsula as well as the Orkney Islands.
该地区包括苏格兰半岛尽头的部分地区以及奥克尼群岛。
“That geological ‘fingerprint’ isn’t repeated in any other area of sediment in the U.K.,” said Aberystwyth University geologist Nick Pearce, one of the study writers.
“研究报告撰写人之一、阿伯里斯威斯大学地质学家尼克-皮尔斯说："这种地质‘指纹’在英国任何其他地区的沉积物中都没有重复出现过。
Greaney said the operational complexity of moving the stone so far suggests a high level of planning, cooperation and cultural connection between these two parts of ancient Britain.
格雷尼表示，将这块石头移动这么远的操作复杂性表明，古代英国的这两个部分之间有着高度的规划、合作和文化联系。
Stonehenge went up around 5,000 years ago.
巨石阵大约在5000年前建成。
Its design creates a kind of “window” that fully frames the sun as it rises on the summer solstice.
它的设计创造了一种“窗口”，在夏至日太阳升起时，它能完全框住太阳。
The ancient purpose of the altar stone remains a mystery.
古代的祭坛石的用途仍然是一个谜。
“Stonehenge isn’t a settlement site, but a place of ceremony…,” said Heather Sebire, with English Heritage, an aid organization that cares for hundreds of historic British sites and structures.
“巨石阵不是一个定居点，而是一个举行仪式的地方……”，英国遗产组织的希瑟·塞比尔说，该组织是一个援助组织，负责照顾数百个英国历史遗迹和建筑。
Sebire said that past archaeological digs had not uncovered evidence of daily living at Stonehenge.
塞比尔说，过去的考古发掘并没有发现巨石阵日常生活的证据。
Past research has shown cultural connections — such as similarities in pottery making — between the area around Stonehenge and Scotland’s Orkney Islands.
过去的研究表明，巨石阵周围地区和苏格兰奥克尼群岛之间存在文化联系，例如在陶器制作方面的相似之处。
Other stones at Stonehenge came from western Wales.
其他的巨石阵的石头来自于西威尔士。。
Britain is home to other ancient stone circles. But, study writer Richard Bevins of Aberystwyth University says, “the thing that’s unique about Stonehenge is the distance from which the stones have been sourced. ”
英国是其他古老石圈的所在地。但是，研究报告的作者、阿伯里斯特威斯大学的理查德·贝文斯说：“巨石阵的独特之处在于建造它的石头的来源地距离这里很远。”
I’m Caty Weaver.
我是凯蒂·韦弗。
